THE
SIGNIFICANCE OFBAISAKHI (VAISAKHI)
Some important questions were asked
after a lecture specially planned to be delivered in connection with the
celebration of Baisakhi in the auditorium of P.U.B. Singapore. The
answersto those questions, along with the lecture delivered on that
occasion, are given below.
The Sikh Youth and Baisakhi Summary
of the lecture given on 14 April 1996 to the youth in Singapore regarding
the relevance of Baisakhi to their lives. References Quoted in the lecture:
(i) Mankind’s religious future may be obscure, yet one thing can be
foreseen. The living higher religions are going to influence each other
more than ever before, in the days of ever increasing communications
between all parts of the world and the branches of the human race.In this
coming religious debate, the Sikh religion and its scriptures, the Guru
Granth, will have something special of value to say to the rest of the
world.A British historian Toynbee, Foreword The Sacred Writing of the
Sikhs Published by UNESCO.
(ii) I have studied the scriptures of the great
religions, but I do not find else where the same powerof appeal to the
heart and mind as I find here in these volumes ... They speak to a person
of any religion or of none. They speak for the human heart and the
searching mind.Miss Pearl S Buck, a Nobel Laureate, Introduction to the
English translation of the Guru Granth Sahib.
(iii) The author of the “Vie
de Jesus” was a great admirer of Jesus Christ. Greatly impressed as he was
by the spiritual message delivered by Christ and those of the Semitic
thinkers that preceded him, he posed the question “...whether great
originality will rise again or will the world be content to follow the
paths opened by the daring creators of the ancient ages?” Having Sikhism
in his mind, MacCauliffe in his book “The Sikh Religion”, answers the
above question in the following words:“Now here is presented a religion
totally unaffected by Semitic or Christian influences. Based on the concept
of the unity of God, it rejected Hindu formalities and adopted an
independent ethical system, ritual, and standards which were totally
opposed to the theological beliefs of Guru Nanak’s age and country. As we
shall see here after, it would be difficult to point to a religion
of greater originality or to a more comprehensive ethical system.”The Sikh
Faith A Universal Message Gurbakhsh Singh published by Canadian Sikh Study
Teaching Society, Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Summary of the Speech:
We
are here to celebrate the founding of the Khalsa on the day of Baisakhi in
1699. It is my pleasure to share with you the significance of Baisakhi for
the Sikhs, specifically the youth.Let us discuss the history of the faith
and its uniqueness so that the youth know their heritage.This will help
them to enjoy the self-esteem of being Sikhs instead of feeling
embarrassed oftheir distinct identity granted to them on this day by Guru
Gobind Singh. A) Founding of the Faith Guru Nanak Dev, upon coming out of
the river of Bein, in 1499 delivered his first formal sermon, a message
given to him by God; “Na Koi Hindu Na Musalman” Do not divide humanity into
Hindus and Muslims. We are children of the same Father, hence we are
equal. We can love him by any Name; Allah, Ram, Gobind, etc.To understand
this message, we must remember that people were divided into many castes
and sub-castes, some of them considered low or even untouchable. Followers
of each faith claimed a franchise on God and preached that unless a person
accepted their faith, he or she would not be permitted to enter into
Heaven; one could enter it through their prophet only.Obviously this is an
untenable belief which unfortunately prevails even today.As a result,
there prevailed serious inter faith and inter-caste hatred causing
continuous tension among the people. Bhai Gurdas, the scribe of the Guru
Granth Sahib, in his first Var,describes this irreligious and antisocial
behavior of the people. He states in poetical language,that the “weight”
of human conflicts became unbearable for Mother Earth. She requested God
tosend a prophet to stop the tension. God responded by sending Guru Nanak
who preached Truth(i.e. all of humanity are His children and are equal.)
See Chapter II Question 5, the translation of Var 1, Bhai Gurdas
With this understanding, we can comprehend that when
the Guru uttered, “Na Koi Hindu Na Musalman”, he planted the seeds of a
social and religious revolution.
B) Nursing of the Faith The
“plant”, called the Sikh faith, was nursed by the ten Gurus with great
devotion andmany sacrifices, even at the cost of their heads. The faith of
the Fatherhood of God andBrotherhood of humanity was introduced through
two Sikh institutions, namely Sangat andPangat.Everyone, including Hindus
and Muslims, high caste and low caste, rich and poor, menand women were
welcome to sit together as equals without any kind of discrimination. They
wereto love God by any and all Names Allah, Ram, Gobind, Guru, etc. This
congregation was given the name Sangat. These people were also welcome to
partake of free food, Langar, together asequals. It was called
pangat.Later, during the times of the third and the fourth Gurus, the
followers were required touse water from the same well and bathe in the
same pool to abolish from their minds the feelingof “otherness” for
persons of a different caste, community of faith. This was unimaginable
during those days in India where some persons were considered untouchable
and were not allowed tocome close to a person of a higher caste. The fifth
Guru compiled the holy scripture. Not only the hymns of the Gurus but also
hymns composed by Muslim, Hindu and many so-called low caste holy persons
were included in it. They all preached that there is the same reflection
of God in every human being. This message was not to the liking of the
authorities or the people proud of their high caste. All Gurus were
harassed by the misuse of political authority. The fifth Guru and the
ninth Guru were arrested, tortured and murdered. The sixth and the tenth
Gurus were repeatedly attacked by the army.
In the
face of this strong repression from the rulers and negative propaganda by
the high caste, the Sikh wave continued to progress. It reached its climax
on the day of Baisakhi in 1699.On this day, the Guru Khalsa Panth, the
ever living Guru, was revealed and installed as Panj Pyaras.
C) Revelation of the Khalsa
A special gathering
of the Sikhs was called on this day. They were invited from all overIndia
for this great occasion. In the general gathering, the Guru, with a
glittering sword in hishand, gave a call for those who would protect the
truth and live the faith at the cost of their lives.The devotees joined in
thousands. According to the intelligence report sent to the Emperor
inDelhi, about 20,000 persons took Amrit and became members of the Khalsa
Panth on that day.The first five who offered themselves to the Guru were
called the Panj Pyaras. They were requested by the Guru to admit him into
the Panth by administering Amrit to him. The Sangatfounded by Guru Nanak
was transformed into the Khalsa Panth on the day of Baisakhi, 1699.The
mandate to the Khalsa is:
To spread the
righteousness, protect the human rights of the truthful people (holy
people) anddestroy the tyrant.
Every disciple was required to
wear the five articles of faith, called the five Kakaars, theidentity and
pride of a Sikh. To be a member of the Panth, one was also to follow the
life of Sewa-Simran and wish well for all humanity.This revealed Guru, (the
corporate body, the Guru Khalsa Panth) is beyond the danger of being
“killed” by any king because it is not an individual human being but a
philosophy, the fellowship of all those who promise to practice the Truth
at any cost. It is the installation of this Guru that we celebrate on this
day of Baisakhi. Holding of high level functions all over the
world,whenever the Sikhs are, remind us of this day. The Sikhs under the
guidance of this Guru, the Guru Khalsa Panth, continued their struggle for
securing human rights for the weak. During the 18th century, becoming a
Sikh was against the law of the land. The Delhi government ordered that
anyone who could find a Sikh and chop off his head could exchange it at
any police station for about one year’s wages. Sikhs not only survived
this elimination planned by the mighty Government, but before the turn of
the century, became the formal rulers of the Punjab. Actually, their writ
prevailed over major parts of the region during the latter half of the
century. Maharaja Ranjit Singh, with the guidance and help of his
mother-in-law, Sardarni Sada Kaur, coordinated the different units of the
Panth (then called Misls.) He took over Lahore in 1799 and thus became the
first Sikh ruler of the Punjab. The reason for the success of the Khalsa
was their love for humanity and the protection they provided to the poor
and helpless and the cost of their own lives. The high character of the
Sikhs was so popular with people that even a Muslim historian, Kazi noor
Mohammed, could not help recognizing it and recording it in his
book.Though he nursed an extreme hatred for the Sikhs and referred to them
as Sug (dogs, inPersian) instead of Singh, he could not help admitting
their high character. He writes: In no case would they slay a coward, nor
would they put an obstacle in the way of a fugitive. They do not plunder
the wealth and ornaments of women, but she a well-to -do lady or a maid
servant. There is no adultery among these “dogs” nor are these mischievous
people given to thieving. Whether a woman is young or old, they call her
“buriya” and ask her to get out of the way. (The word “buriya” in the
Indian language means “an old lady”.) There is no thief at all among these
“dogs” nor is there any house breaker born among these miscreants. They do
not make friends with adulterers. Jang Nama PP 156-159.
D) Celebration of Baisakhi
Now, a few words about
how Baisakhi should be celebrated.There is a very simple answer for this
we know that the Guru founded the Khalsa Panthon this day by inviting the
believers in equality of humanity to accept Amrit. Every disciple
waswelcome to become a member of the Akal Purkh Ki Fauj (saint-soldiers),
to protect and propagate this wave. The Guru himself underwent the
ceremony, took Amrit and became the firstmember of this “army” of holy
people. Therefore the true celebration of the day is that we ourselves
take Amrit and join the Panth.The rest of the activities planned for this
day are also good and necessary. They bring aspirit of “Chardi Kala” to
the Panth and remind them of their great heritage, inculcatingself-esteem
among the individuals. We have discussed the high esteem (because of their
highcharacter) in which the Sikhs were held by their opponents. It is this
spirit that we should carry from the auditorium and spread among the Sikhs,
particularly the youth. They need to learn about the features of their
faith and the contributions of the Sikhs to society as observed bymany
modern non Sikh scholars. Further, when they hear about the actual
experiences I have shared with you (summary of one incident given below)
they will know the greatness of being born into a Sikh family and would
love to live a Sikh way of life. This is the objective of celebrating
Baisakhi by us.Please excuse me if I have made any omissions or statements
which do not agree withthe principles of Gurmat.Waheguru Ji Ka Khalsa
Whaheguru Ji Ki Fateh Gurbakhsh Singh Speaker’s personal experience in the
USA A couple of years age, I attended an interfaith meeting in Cleveland,
Ohio. There were about adozen speakers representing different faiths. Each
described the features of his faith. At the end a common question was asked
of all the speakers
How do you regard the people who do not belong to your
faith? Are they lost?”
As it is well known, preachers of
each faith insist that unless one joins their faith, one cannot besaved
(or one will not find entry into Heaven). The question was obviously a
very unpleasant now to be asked in that kind of a forum. Every speaker’s
dilemma was obvious as they spoke.The last turn was that of the Sikh
speaker so I went to the podium and answered the question like this.
“Friends, this question does not exist for the Sikhs. Guru Nanak founded
the faith by preaching that we should not divide people into Hindus,
Muslims or into any other faith. We are children ofthe same Father whom we
can love by any Name; Allah, Ram, Gobind, Guru, Niranjan (a wordused by
Yogis for God). Anyone, who loves God by any Name, realizes Him. The Sikh
scripture,the Guru Granth Sahib, contains the hymns of six Sikh Gurus and
thirty other holy people whowere born as Muslims, Hindus, low castes and
even untouchables. They addressed God by many Names in their hymns,
including those five mentioned above. Gurbani says no one can claim a
franchise on God, He is our common Father.
God in
nobody’s father’s property. He is owned by love. [Guru Granth P.658
]
Lord, you
are the Father to all of us. [Guru Granth P. 97 ]I
concluded my reply saying, “God is our common father; therefore people of
all faithshave equal rights on Him. He loves all of us. Anyone who loves
Him and His ‘children’ can realize Him.’ A spontaneous loud clapping from
the audience welcomed this reply, and I was very pleased with this
response. However, the climax was yet to come. A supplementary question
was asked by the same person, “How do you regard those who do not believe
in God?”Briefly, my reply was like this: I can answer the
question better with an actual example from my life. My son in India feels
that I do not exist (for him) because he cannot meet me orcontact me. My
daughter here in the USA, in whose house I stay, even though aware of
his feelings for me, still loves him. She knows that to deserve my love she
cannot afford to ignore him. Further, it is very clear in her mind that he,
being my son, is to be treated and sincerely loved by her as a brother.
Similarly, we Sikhs know that all people, whether they love God or not,are
like brothers to us. Our prayer, therefore, is considered complete only
when we say, “Father,we pray that You may bless the whole of humanity in
Thy Name”.Hearing this, the whole house (people of different
faiths) stood on their feet and clapped loudly till I returned to my seat.
The Sikh youth and also the adults who attended that interfaithmeeting
felt great and enjoyed the self-esteem of being Sikhs.
QUESTIONS ANSWERED Many questions were asked at the end of the
lecture but most of them have already been answered in the book. The
answers to two pertinent questions are given below.
Question 1:
I have read the Christian Bible and have
found that so many teachings ofJesus are similar to that in the Guru
Granth Sahib. So, is Christianity a “partner” religion with Sikhism since
both speak the same message? If so, why is there so much friction between
our faiths?
Religion is known not from the moral code but from the
philosophy of the faith regarding the definition of God and the mission of
human life prescribed by it.All religions, not just Christianity, tell
their followers to speak the truth, live honestly, donate money to the
poor and sympathize with the sick and needy. Similarly, all religions
prohibit actions that are immoral and not accepted socially. For example,
every faith disallows robbery, dishonest earnings, violence, cheating,
bribery, adultery, lying, mistreating the weak, being greedy, egoistic,
etc. They are to be avoided as they are sins. In short, with just minor
variations, all religions actually preach the same moral and ethical
code.However, this similarity in religions should not lead one to believe
that all religions are the same; they may be totally different depending
upon the concept of God and the mission of human life preached by them.
(i)
Concept of God: The uniqueness of a faith lies in the concept of God and
the authority of theprophet preached by the faith. Most people claim that
only the Name given to God by theirprophet is sacred and that only those
people who believe in him and join their faith will be saved.Christianity
is no exception. It says Christ is the ONLY BEGOTTEN SON OF GODand the ONLY SAVIOR
of mankind. Those alone who believe in
Christ will be saved. According to Christians, non Christians are
non-believers and will not be saved. Here lies the difficulty ofaccepting
the Bible as a “partner” religion with the Sikh faith.Guru Nanak Dev
rejected this belief. He said that everybody, no matter what faith
onebelongs to, is God’s child. God is the Father and the Mother of all
mankind. Hence, all humanbeings are equal in His Eyes and they may love
Him/Her by any Name; Allah, Ram, Gobind,Guru, etc. No one Name is superior
or inferior to the other.Further, Guru Nanak cautioned people that neither
any prophet nor he can save aperson. People have to act righteously to be
saved by the Lord Himself and not by the prophet.God judges us not by the
Name with which we address Him but by our sincerity and love for Him.
Those who remember God succeed in their efforts (to realize Him.) Guru
Nanak Those who Love God realize Him. Guru Gobind Singh The Sikh holy
scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib, contains the writings of about three
dozen holy persons who realized the Truth. They include among them low
castes, untouchables, Muslims, Hindus and six Sikh Gurus.
(ii) Mission of
Human Life: The goal of human life and what happens after death areother
aspects which give distinction to a faith. All people of different faiths
are scared of Hell and,therefore, keep a strong belief in their prophet to
assure their entry into paradise. Guru Nanak rejected this belief also. He
denied the existence of places assumed to be Heaven or Hell. He said that
loving God and singing His virtues is enjoying the bliss of the heavens
here on this very earth. On the other hand, suffering from ego, lust,
anger, greed and other vices is undergoing the tortures of Hell in this
very life.Thus, the Sikh faith as stated in my lecture and as observed by
MacCauliffe in his book,is unique and independent of the religious beliefs
of the East and the West. It is the faith for the modern man and for all of
humanity. The reader is requested to study the three quotations givenin
the beginning of this lecture to understand the great message of the Sikh
faith. See also Chapter VII Question 1.
Question 2: An increasing number of Sikhs feel that
Guru Nanak’s teachings should beadopted as they deal with peace. Guru
Gobind Singh has portrayed the teachings of violence and not peace.How are
we to convince these Sikhs that there is no difference in both the
teachings?
Yes, I agree with you. The misunderstanding that Guru
Gobind Singh changed Guru Nanak’s path of peace to the path of sword is
common among some Sikhs and many non-Sikhs. It started with a couple of
non-Sikh scholars who read the Sikh history without studying the
principles of the Sikh faith. These writers did not study the hymns of
Guru Nanak Dev and were not clear about the mission of the Guru. They
were, therefore, responsible for creating incorrect opinions about the
Sikh faith. Let us analyze the whole issue from the aspect of Gurmat
philosophy and Sikh history. Gurmat Philosophy Here is the path laid by
Guru Nanak in his own words: The Guru desires of a Sikh: If you love me,
but off your head, put it in your palm and follow me. Do not hesitate a
bit but offer your head and adopt the path. The message is that the life
of a Sikh is a life of sacrifice.The path of Guru Nanak is a path
ofWelfare to ALL. Therefore, the Guru stood up tostop injustice to
the poor and common people. The rulers, the administrators and the guides
ofdifferent faiths were all sucking the blood of the common man. Guru
Nanak boldly exposed themin harsh words: Rulers and administrators behave
like bloodsuckers, the beasts. ((Guru Granth Sahib) Page1288) The judges,
the Brahmans and the yogis are all sucking the blood of the people; all
three arefooling them and are responsible for their problems. ((Guru
Granth Sahib) Page 662) The warrior class (Khatri) have given up their
faith, the responsibility of protecting the weak; theyplease the rulers.
((Guru Granth Sahib) Page 663) Thus, it is Guru Nanak Dev himself who
started this CONFRONTATION with the tyrannical and unjust authorities,
whether political or religious. Through his preaching the Guruinitiated
the struggle for the human rights of the weak and the poor. He knew well
that ultimately violence would be used against those who followed this
mission to help the weak. Accordingly,he cautioned: “Anyone who decides to
adopt this path should be willing to make the greatest sacrifice and offer
his head for this cause.” The call given by Guru Nanak was repeated by
Guru Gobind Singh (then Guru Gobind Rai) about two centuries later. He
announced to the huge gathering of people specially invitedfrom all over
India, “I want a Sikh to offer his head for protecting the righteousness,
Dharma.”Thus there was no difference at all between the messages or the
directions given by the firstGuru and those given by the tenth Guru to the
Sikhs.These first five volunteers who offered their heads to the tenth
Guru were given Amrit,named Panj Pyaras and the Guruship bestowed on them.
They were, therefore called Guru Khalsa Panth. Guru Gobind Rai himself took
Amrit from this Guru Panth and became their first disciple. Along with this
Guruship, the mandate given to the Khalsa was: To spread righteousness,
protect the human rights of the truthful people (holy people, followersof
truth) and destroy the tyrant. It is the same mission that was laid down
by Guru Nanak Dev for a person to become a Sikh, a life of sacrifice for
truth.
Historical Perspective:
The power in
power, whether in the field of faith or politics, were upset because
theywere exposed by the Gurus. They did whatever they could, including the
use of violence, againstthe unarmed Gurus. To understand this we must
refer to some happenings in Sikh history.
(i) A complaint was lodged at
Lahore by a high caste person, called Tapa, against GuruAmar Das. He
protested against the Guru for letting a low caste and untouchables take
waterfrom the Baoli (an open well with steps reaching the water level) and
eat food in Langar as equals along with the high castes. This is against
the principle of the caste system of the Hindu faith. The Guru was summoned
to explain his actions in the court of the Emperor Akbar, then inLahore.
After listening to Bhai Jetha Ji, (later the fourth Guru), who represented
Guru Amar Dasat the court, the Emperor dismissed the case.
(ii) After two
unsuccessful army attacks (mentioned in Guru Granth Sahib page 371,page
825) failed to dislodge or kill the fifth Nanak, Guru Arjun Dev, he was
arrested without anyreason. Of course, a false excuse of helping Khusro,
the rebel son of the emperor Jahangir, was made. The Guru was tortured and
finally murdered.
(iii) The sixth Nanak, Guru Hargobind, was arrested.
Keeping in view the protests of the people, he was released to soothe the
feelings of the masses. But some years later, he too was attacked by the
army.Therefore, to protect the wave for justice and righteousness, the
sword (kirpan) had to betaken up by Guru Hargobind. (Guru Gobind Singh was
not the first to do it.) this was done by him under the directions of his
father, the fifth Guru and according to the principles of Gurmat laid down
by Guru Nanak.In view of the two armed attacks on him, Guru Arjun Dev
arranged for the defense training for his son, Hargobind. Before being
martyred, the Guru advised his son to assume the responsibility of the
Guruship by wearing two swords, representing spiritual leadership (Piri)
and temporal leadership (Miri). Thus, the sword was taken up to stop the
tyranny and provide peace to the people. It was done only when offering of
the head by the Guru failed to change the mind of the tyrant. As the sword
was taken up for protection of the helpless, its name was changed from
talwar (a weapon for attack) to kirpan (a weapon for defense).
Once the author was asked to discuss the Sikh faith
in a meeting conducted by the Committee for Racial Justice at the Gurdwara
Khalsa Diwan Society, Vancouver. People of all faiths including judges,
police officers and other government officials were present. I explained
to them that a Sikh is hurt when somebody asks, “Why are you carrying this
dagger?” I told them“Firstly, it is not a dagger, it's a kirpan. Secondly,
a Sikh does not carry it, he wears it. Only robbers carry
daggers.”Referring to the change of the name of talwar to kirpan, I
suggested to the police chiefpresent in the meeting to change the name of
the pistol worn by the policeman to “protectal” sothat it reveals its
purpose, to protect people. Everyone present was fascinated by the
suggestion.The police chief later observed that he understood why it was
justified for a Sikh to wear akirpan.
(iv) Violence against the
Gurus continued. The four army attacks on the sixth Guru, the summoning of
the seventh and eighth Gurus to Delhi by the emperor to submit to his
authority and the murder of the ninth Guru are all well known incidents of
Sikh history.A regular and disciplined organization was needed to fight
this tyranny intended to destroy the protectors of human rights. Guru
Gobind Singh undertook this great responsibility. Of course, he had to
sacrifice his whole family for the following this path.The Guru Khalsa
Panth did its duty so well that the tyrannical rule was uprooted and a rule
of justice for all people was established in 1799 (100 years after the
Khalsa Baisakhi) in Lahore.The character of the Sikhs, the saint-soldiers,
as described by a Muslim historian and mentioned to you during the lecture
(the reader may see it again to understand the significance of the kirpan
in the hands of the Sikhs) was responsible for the success of the Khalsa.
Thisshould dispel the misinformation spread by ignorant writers regarding
the Sikh character. Rather,it proves that the Sikhs were neither given nor
did they use their weapons for violence. They used them for maintaining
peace and protecting human rights of the people. I must mention one of the
many incidents of Sikh history that explains the above view of theMuslim
historian. Ahmed Shah Abdali repeatedly invaded India, and almost every
year took with him thewealth and women from Delhi and surrounding area.
The women were sold in his country by attacking his caravan and getting
back as many women as possible from him.In 1761 about 2,000 helpless young
women were picked up by Abdali. The Sikhs very well knew that the prisoners
were the daughters of the rulers and administrators of Delhi who had fixed
a price on the head of a Sikh.The cries of these helpless young women
prisoners reached the Khalsa staying in the deserts. The only way they
could help the distressed women was to come out from their hideouts,
unsheathe their swords and challenge the soldiers to release the innocent
women.
The Khalsa did it; of course, at the cost of many Sikh lives. Thus,
they lived up to the principle of their faith.The women, who were escorted
safely back to their parents, molded the minds of many Muslims and Hindus.
They felt that, if one is to live a life of self respect and honor, one
should live like a Sikh and die like a Sikh. This thought made many of them
join the Sikh Panth.They very next year in February 1762, Abdali angered
by his defeat at the hands of the Sikhs, returned with a big cavalry force
to take revenge on them. He traveled very fast and took Sikhs unaware near
Barnala, in the Malwa region of the Panjab. The Sikhs, along with
their children and old people, were moving to the south towards the deserts
and were in a highly vulnerable position. Half of the nation (estimates
vary, out to 40 to 60 thousand Sikhs about 20to 30 thousand Sikhs) was
murdered by the army. Thinking that he had ‘destroyed’ the Sikhs,Abdali
went to Amritsar and blasted the Harimandar Sahib, the Golden Temple. It
was filled with debris and dead animals to desecrate the holy place which
gave life to the Sikhs. The fear of the Sikhs, however, continued to haunt
Abdali. For saving the honor of the young daughters of their enemies, the
Sikhs sacrificed half of their nation and risked the destruction of their
holy place.That same year in September, when Abdali was still near Lahore,
the Sikhs challenged him. To save his life, he had to escape from the
battlefield, under cover of darkness. Later,Abdali, finding the Sikhs too
strong, feared entering into Punjab and died in Kabul, repenting his defeat
at the hands of the Khalsa, whom he wanted to subdue or destroy.The
history of 1699-1799, the period of the Guru Khalsa Panth, proves that the
kirpan(mistakenly called sword) was used as a weapon for defense, the way
a policeman uses his gunto fight robbers and criminals. This is because
the Khalsa was organized as Akal Purkh Ki Fauj,each member being a
Sant-Sipahi (a holy policeman).
Thus, the statement
that “Guru Gobind Singh started a violent path instead of the path of peace
founded by Guru Nanak Dev” is totally wrong